Moving Mountains

Less than a month ago I had a garage sale. I thought I'd "combed" through everything throughly and at the end of the day my husband stuffed every inch of his pick up truck and drove to the donation center. Phew...I thought, my house should feel lighter, like it went on a diet. The truth is my house was still fat.

I was feeling a mix of frustration and inspiration as I would tidy up my house each day. I was grasping for a feeling and not quite landing on it. Everything was "organized". I love to sort, file and label. I know all about grouping like items together and using matching containers to achieve a uniform look. Why after all of this organizing was my house still feeling like it was fighting me when I went to straighten up. The root cause...too much stuff.

I put on new goggles and really looked at the stuff that had become familiar, comfortable in my environment. I got really honest and kicked a lot of stuff to the curb. I've made trips to the donation center several times a week and sold so much on my neighborhood Facebook site that neighbors are starting to ask if we are moving.

An amazing thing is starting to happen. It is contagious! My husband cleaned off his desk declaring that he has caught my decluttering fever. My son sorted through his clothes and we no longer argue about what he wears because everything that is left in his closet are things that he chose. My youngest daughter who is a treasure keeper and inherits more clothes than there are days in a year asked if I could help her in her room. I never thought I'd see the day that she would get rid of anything. She has a happy spirit and likes everything so she tends to hold on to things, lots of things. As we went through her stuff a switch flipped and she started to catch the vision. For the first time she had a sense of her OWN style. She loves everything that sparkles. Her favorite shirt says, "glitter is my favorite color." Her big sister likes classic style and is drawn to simple gray shirts. As we sorted Alexa, my youngest daughter started to say, "plain, plain, plain," and tossed several items into the "No" pile. In the end everything she kept had sequins and kitty cats and things that make her light up.

I'm not sure if I should be proud or embarrassed of the mountain that came out of Alexa's closet. In the end she decided that she wanted to be done with having dressers in her room and decided to store hanging clothes in her closet and folded clothes in the hall closet (which was empty due to out efforts over the past couple of weeks.) We sold her dressers and night stand and now she can cartwheel in her room which in her world is one of life's greatest pleasures. I called a dear friend who came this morning and sorted through our mountain of clothes and left with arms full for her girls. I will be so happy when I see them at church or school giving life to some of our stuff. Most of it was given to us and it felt so good to pay it forward. After all, it's all God's stuff, sometimes it is just our job to clear it out and pass it out.

Things that spark Joy.

Relationships. I'm crazy about them. Conversations and time with others are what make me tick.  The highlight of my day is when the kids cram in the truck and tell me stories. One of my favorite quotes of all times is from Jay and Laura Laffoon, they do marriage seminars and they say," for women conversation is play."

So with this bit of information about me one might think that I'd be the gal that you'd find in coffee shops with a friend. Or that I'd be here, in the virtual world, blogging my thoughts. You'd imagine that I'd be playing and creating with my kids. The truth is where you find me most of the time is...cleaning. I often joke that my tombstone will say, Michelle-"The women who wiped things." Wipe the counter, wipe the dishes, wipe the table, wipe noses, you get the idea. But, before I can wipe everything there are endless things that need to be picked up, put away, organized. This chasing of things is swallowing up my life one moment at a time and I am fighting back.

I have recently discovered audio books and they are my new best friends. While I am wiping and picking up they keep me company and engage my mind. In the past couple of weeks I've listened to all three of Jennifer L.Scott's books on "Madame Chic", I've listened to "Good-bye Things" by Fumio Sasaki, "The life changing magic of Tidying Up"by Marie Kondo, and "The More of less." by Joshua Becker. Perhaps you see a theme. All of these books in some way focused on living well with less. And so I am on a mission. I am seeking to unbury my life from the stuff so that I can simplify and spend my time in relationships. After all they are the only thing that I can take with me to heaven.

Here is what I've learned/accomplished so far:

1.Focus on myself. I often spend my time straightening up everyone else's stuff only to feel frustrated when they don't maintain my systems or appreciate my efforts. I've decided this time I will lead by example. I'm not touching anyone else's stuff without invitation. I began in my closet with Marie Kondo on my kindle like a coach by my side. I took her advice and got rid of anything that didn't, "bring me joy." Into the pile to leave went anything that needed repair...no more mending on my "to do "list. I got rid of most everything that I had gotten second hand and kept only what I had carefully chosen myself.
2.Keep what you love. My motivation all started with a new dress. While this is an exercise on having less that new dress makes me feel amazing and I want to have that feeling every time I get dressed. I've warned my family that they may just see me in this dress several times a week. I'm just gonna rock it out and wear it out. I'm done saving my good clothes for special days. I realized as I subtracted all that I didn't love that my true style came to the surface. When I'm choosing what to wear everything that I look at makes me happy. I am much more content with less.
3.Edit out the noise. Objects speak to us all day long. My book shelf full of things I intend to read is like a weight on my mind everytime I pass by. "Oh I really need to make time to read," my inner voice says with guilt. I know I've had many of the books for years and I feel like a disappointment to myself that I've not gotten to them yet. Good-bye guilt. You are going to the thrift store.
4.Sell it. My new favorite thing is our neighborhood garage sale site. I write a description, snap a picture, post and wait for money to show up. Yesterday while cleaning my garage I really looked at the shelf next to the door for the first time. It's a ugly shelf. It was left here by the previous owner and it collects junk as people walk in the door. It clogs the entrance point and collects clutter on the top and spider webs on the bottom. It annoys me. I posted it and in less than 5 minutes I had someone who needed it. Good-bye shelf, I'm so happy you're leaving.

I feel lighter. Free. Unburdened. It is like reverse shopping. Each day I visit my own space and say "Good bye stuff." I no longer have the urge to flit away time wandering through Target to see what trend I need to keep up with next. I like the stuff at my house. There is less to wash, wipe and pick up. Perhaps you will see me at the coffee shop, with a friend.